Forgotten
by Aphyx
Summary: [Slight AU] Content with his life as an ANBU and an accomplished ninja, Naruto's world is thrown for a loop when he receives a mission he never would have seen himself doing. [SasuNaru]
1. Prologue

**Forgotton**

By **Aphyx**

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters, and I don't get any profit from writing this. Obviously.

**Warnings**: Romance of the boyxboy variety, so if the thought repulses you turn back now. Slight swearing.

Hey. My second fic! All right, this one's going to be more serious, and will also be more than just a one-shot. I've also kinda changed some things, as I didnt want to do the whole Sasuke turns bad but gets dragged back thing, as there's so much of it. I wanted to be different! HopefullyI've notscrewed up... Let me know! Anyway, I'll let you judge it for yourself...

--

It was a beautiful day.

The sun was high in the sky, filling the land with warm, bright light, and not a cloud was in sight. The leaves above cast an almost green glow upon the surrounding forest, blocking out the glaring light of the sun as it tried to break through. Slithers of light managed to escape through the slight gaps, casting pools of gold onto the otherwise dull earth. Birds chirruped quietly in song, almost as if afraid to break the tranquillity of the forest.

Naruto sighed, glancing up at what little he could see of the sky as he moved. It was such a shame he had to kill on a day like this.

Dressed in his usual ANBU garb, fox mask and all, Naruto was currently on the trail of his most recent assassination mission. Naruto wasn't accustomed to doing missions that were solely based on eliminating a particular person, mainly because he didn't like to do it. Killing someone who wasn't necessarily a ninja, just because someone with enough money to get them laid off decided they didn't want them alive was something Naruto wasn't willing to do. Especially if they couldn't even defend themselves. Naruto got a sick feeling in his stomach whenever he had to go on an assassination mission, though luckily it wasn't often.

This time was different.

Naruto had no feelings of anxiety; his body wasn't reacting in any negative ways at all. He wasn't particularly enthusiastic either, however, which Naruto supposed was a good thing. Getting a kick out of killing would mean he had some major issues. Though his apathy of the situation had surprised him at first, Naruto figured that life as a ninja had really done a one-eighty on his emotions. At twenty, he was a completely different person from the loud, brash kid with a love for all things orange he'd once been.

As an ANBU, he'd had to have a much more serious, calculating attitude if he wanted to stay alive, never mind completing a mission in the first place. Therefore, the orange had just had to go. A snide comment didn't get him riled up as much as it used to. He also didn't just charge into a battle head first and count on chakra reserves and stamina alone to keep him alive.

Naruto swiftly jumped onto a nearby branch and continued his pursuit, abandoning the decision to travel along the ground to quieten his approach. Despite the fact his stealth had greatly improved, his intended victim would know he was coming whichever way he travelled. Besides, this elevated position gave him a wider scope of the area and he was less likely to get caught unawares when the enemy realised he was there.

Adrenaline started pumping when he sensed the chakra signature up ahead, readying his body to fight or flee. There would be no fleeing from Uzumaki Naruto, though, that was certain. Realising the signature was coming due north-east, Naruto changed his position accordingly, slowing down his speed slightly as he approached his target.

Naruto knew the enemy would know he was there despite the fact he'd completely suppressed his chakra, so he was determined to ensure they didn't know _exactly_ where he was. Naruto frowned behind his mask. His target was openly announcing his presence, the chakra flaring for anyone to see.

"Chi," Naruto muttered. Someone was cocky.

Naruto stopped and dropped to the forest floor silently, swiftly moving from tree to tree as he moved in on his opponent, but making sure to keep a good distance away. This mission wasn't going to be a walk in the park; ANBU missions rarely were, especially solitary ones. Naruto much preferred to work with his team, they had good solidarity and a super genius for a captain, and never failed a mission.

Halting his movements, Naruto flattened his back against a tree trunk to prevent himself from being ambushed from behind. With his head facing the direction of the chakra signature, Naruto peered through the mass of trees and branches, his eyes darting everywhere in the unlikely chance of an attack. The chakra signature wasn't going anywhere. He was still unable to get a sight of his target, but was reluctant to move closer.

'Looks like I have no choice,' Naruto thought dryly, deciding the direct approach was probably the best way to go about it. 'Not that I'm going to be _obvious_ about it,' he smirked, withdrawing shuriken from his weapons pouch.

Jumping silently into the trees once more, Naruto speedily hopped from branch to branch as he circled his opponent, gradually moving closer. When he finally got a visual, his opponent was simply stood in the middle of a small clearing, his aura practically radiating arrogance and composure.

'Yeah, like I'm going to fall for that.'

Naruto threw one of his shuriken with deadly accuracy, but continued noiselessly circling his opponent so as not to have his location detected. Sharp blue eyes watched as the projectile embedded in the back of the shinobi's head with a dull thud. Naruto also watched as said shinobi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

'Kage bunshin, eh?' the blond ninja thought with a wry smile.

Slightly off guard, but not entirely surprised, Naruto had to drop momentarily to the ground as a kunai came whizzing his way, followed closely by another that had Naruto use the cover of a nearby tree as a shield before he jumped back amidst the leaves and branches.

'Well there goes hiding my position' Naruto thought, annoyed. 'Looks like I might as well just stand in that clearing.'

Naruto leapt out of the foliage, flipping through the air and landing in a neat crouch. Surprisingly, no shuriken came flying his way, nor did a kunai-wielding opponent. Naruto scanned the area carefully, before his eyes landed on a figure that was leisurely walking out of the thick of the trees. Naruto bristled, but forced his anger down. Now was not the time, he needed to think rationally if he wanted to complete his mission successfully.

"Uzumaki Naruto," the cool voice floated across the clearing, tinged with slight amusement. "How nice to see you again."

"Uchiha Sasuke," Naruto replied in a detached tone. "The feeling isn't mutual."

"It's been a while," Sasuke said thoughtfully. "About…eight or nine years?"

"Who's counting?" Naruto said airily, keeping a wary eye on the missing-nin as he slowly walked forward, before halting a safe enough distance away. Sasuke was shorter than he was, Naruto thought with a kind of childish satisfaction.

Sasuke looked almost exactly the same, Naruto realised. His hair style was the same as it had been when he was twelve, spiked up at the back with dark bangs framing his pale face. His choice of clothing hadn't differed much, dark shorts with an equally gloomy high collared shirt, though from here Naruto couldn't tell whether the Uchiha crest was on the back.

He bet it was.

The Uchiha had obviously grown, now standing at about 5"11 as opposed to Naruto's 6"2. His frame was just as slender as ever, though Naruto knew not to be deceived by appearances. Sakura was a prime example, he thought with a mental wince.

"It took you a while to find me." Sasuke's voice was mocking, and Naruto could tell the missing-nin expected him to explode at the insult and charge at him.

He didn't.

Naruto laughed. He would have even thrown his head back to add insult to injury if it wasn't for the fact it would make him vulnerable to an attack. "Don't be dumb, Uchiha." No changes occurred to Sasuke's face, though his lips had turned downward slightly, replacing the slight smirk that had graced his features. "If we had wanted to find you, we would have. Hokage-sama just didn't think there would be any point wasting any ninja tracking you down."

The statement was partly true. Tsunade had prohibited Naruto from going after Sasuke following the first failed attempt. Naruto had screamed and shouted and wept, but it had been forbidden. Only out of grudging respect and affection for Tsunade had Naruto very reluctantly complied. The Godaime sent no ANBU, Jounin or even Chuunin after Uchiha Sasuke. Not even for reconnaissance to learn his whereabouts. Any information collected was on the basis of Orochimaru only, and Naruto was never informed if any clues to his whereabouts were found.

Naruto had left the village with Jiraiya to become stronger, determined to be allowed to go after Sasuke on his own if he had to. However, a year into his training, Akatsuki launched repeated attacks on the Kyuubi holder and his mentor. Unable to be of much use himself, and Jiraiya being strained from constant assault caused the two to retreat back to Konoha, cutting the toad Sannin's information collecting short. Naruto's training was then continued in the safety of the village, while also enabling him to go on the odd mission, with Jiraiya as protection.

As Naruto's ninja skills and rank gradually improved, the three years had continued to draw closer. However, before Konoha had even had chance to deploy any ninja to track down Orochimaru and prevent him from gaining the Sharingan, an unexpected battle occurred. Akatsuki and Sound clashed, causing the death of Orochimaru and many of his men, as well as a handful of the lesser Akatsuki members. Though Naruto was a little sketchy on the detail as the information had been classified, he had heard that Orochimaru had interfered with the Jinchuuriki-obtaining organisation, causing them to attack. Sound ended up in disarray with no leader, while Akatsuki had disappeared to lick their wounds, and probably recruit new members to make up the loss.

In light of the events, Uchiha Sasuke had been supposed dead, and Naruto had comforted a distressed Sakura as she mourned the loss of her team mate and love. Naruto had been quite detached from the whole ordeal, and had conquered any moments of sadness by comforting himself with the thought that death was better for Sasuke than losing his body to Orochimaru.

After that, Naruto threw himself into his role as a shinobi, and had been extremely proud of himself when he finally made it as an ANBU at the age of 19, through the guidance of Jiraiya and Kakashi, as well as the support of all of his friends. The news he received not long after his promotion, however, left a sour taste in his mouth.

--

_Flashback_

"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?"

Naruto inwardly smirked at the shock that always seemed to appear in Tsunade's eyes whenever he used the honorific, it never failed to amuse him.

"Yes," she answered seriously, a tired and slightly pained look in her eyes. Naruto frowned. "A few months back, we received news of a number of rumours floating around containing a certain missing-nin." Naruto merely blinked, there were many missing-nin, which did she mean? "I hadn't wanted to say anything to you in case they were just rumours, so I sent out an ANBU to investigate. Two weeks ago my suspicions were confirmed." Tsunade seemed to hesitate, and Naruto's eyes narrowed in suspicion, waiting for the information he was beginning to suspect he would hear. "Uchiha Sasuke is alive."

Tsunade watched him in concern, but Naruto just stood there blankly, taking in the information for a few minutes. "Oh," he said flatly.

"Oh?" Tsunade repeated incredulously. "That's all you have to say?"

"Aa," Naruto confirmed. "If that's all you wanted to tell me…" he said indifferently as he turned to leave.

"_Uzumaki Naruto_," Tsunade said sternly, causing a reluctant blond to turn around and stand back up to her desk. She peered into his eyes worriedly. "You don't want to know where he is? Or what he's doing?"

"Not really," Naruto said dispassionately. "So if you're done speaking, Hokage-sama, I would like to get back to my training?"

With a despondent sigh, the Godaime nodded and waved him off. Naruto smiled slightly at her concern. "I'm all right, Tsunade-no-baachan," he said cheekily, before going through hand seals and leaving the room in a puff of smoke.

"Are you really?" Tsunade murmured to herself worriedly.

_End Flashback_

_--_

Naruto didn't know what had driven Tsunade to assign him the mission to rid Konoha of the threat of the younger Uchiha, but he hadn't complained when she had told him of the mission details and given him a report on all information that had been collected on the missing-nin. Uchiha Sasuke was someone he did not know, was just another forgotten face in a sea of enemy shinobi he had to conquer to ensure Konoha's safety. After all, Sasuke was a dangerous S-class missing-nin. He'd also been considered dead to him once, Naruto figured he could deal with it just as well the second time. Even if it was by his own hand...

"Come to drag me back to your wonderful little village then?" Sasuke sneered, crossing his arms over his chest in a defiant gesture, one that also made his stance more vulnerable.

'Grr, cocky bastard.'

Naruto blinked in surprise behind his mask at the words. Is that why Sasuke thought he was here? Surely he didn't really think that. "You're supposed to be the tensai here, Uchiha, and yet again you say something stupid."

Sasuke blinked slowly, cautiously lowering his arms back down to his sides, which Naruto noted with triumph. The blond ninja could practically see the proverbial cogs working in the Uchiha's head, and the previously dark eyes bled crimson as the Sharingan were activated.

Naruto reached behind him, drawing not one katana, as was standard for Konoha ANBU, but two, that had previously been strapped crisscrossed to his back. Although this gave him a disadvantage in terms of ninjutsu, it made his attacks much more swift and harder to evade. Naruto had always had trouble using single-handed seals anyway, so figured two katanas wasn't going to hinder him any more than one would.

"That's right, Uchiha, I'm here to kill you."

--

Good? Bad? ...Absolutely awful? And yes, this _will_ be a SasuNaru/NaruSasu fic. If I've made any mistakes with names or Japanese phrases or anything please tell me so I don't do it throughout the whole fic! Let me know what you think!


	2. Assassination Mission

**Forgotten**

By **Aphyx**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. I gain no profit from writing this. Obviously.

**Warnings: **Shounen-ai equals boyxboy luff 'm afraid. Swearing. Slight AU.

Thanks for the reviews! Okay, I know it's kind of a slow start...and I know most of you would rather get to the smoochin' and the lovin', but you'll have to be patient :P I'm still unsure whether this will be a SasuNaru or NaruSasu or somewhere in between. Any ideas anyone? -innocent smile-

I'm warning you now, I've attempted a fight scene and I dunno if it's any good... so I tried to keep the actual fighting to a minimum as I didn't want to do Naruto and Sasuke ill justice. Anyway, yeah, I'll shut up now...

--

Sasuke only continued to stare with his eerie crimson gaze, looking neither fearful nor impressed. Naruto noticed his defensive stance, the dark haired missing-nin's muscles tense as he waited for the inevitable attack. Surprised the Uchiha hadn't decided to attack first; Naruto decided not to question the blessing and used the time to ready himself.

Concentrating, the blond ANBU moulded his chakra into his hands, the deep purple flaring and flickering as though Naruto's hands were on fire. Keeping a wary eye on Sasuke, who was watching with mild interest, Naruto concentrated on increasing the chakra flow. The purple essence crawled up both katanas, before engulfing them completely, the blades barely visible beneath the crackling flames of chakra.

The purple chakra had been a fairly recent development, caused by the fusion of his and the Kyuubi's chakra over recent years. At first, Naruto had been quite annoyed with the feminine looking chakra, but had realised that as he and the Kyuubi no Kitsune continued to fuse, he had to rely less on the Kyuubi itself, and more on their combined chakra. It also increased his precision when moulding chakra, as he only had one type to concentrate on rather than two. Although when situations got particularly dire, asking for help from the fox was something of a necessity.

"Not bad for a dead last," Sasuke commented mildly, his lips upturned into a superior smirk. "Your chakra control is better."

Naruto snorted, twisting his wrists and spinning the blades in circles at his sides, looking much as though he was playing with some sort of toy rather than a set of deadly weaponry. "You've got barely a year of my life to compare me to, Uchiha. You don't know me."

The statement seemed to anger Sasuke slightly, Sharingan eyes narrowing, though they followed the katanas' movements rather than Naruto. "I'd like to think that year was enough. After all, you can't be any less of an annoying, moronic, poor excuse for a ninja than you were before."

As whenever someone insulted his ninja abilities, Naruto felt deep anger well up inside himself. As a result, the flaring chakra on his katanas grew in size and changed in colour, turning a darker shade of purple. This was all that happened, however, as Naruto had long ago learned to control himself in times of extreme emotion, as it was one of his major weaknesses, especially as it affected the Kyuubi as well.

"Watch what you say, traitor," Naruto growled lowly, halting the katanas' movements in front of his body, arranging the blades so one was out in front, angled to the right, while the other was moved down by his left side, positioned slightly behind him and angled outwards. His chakra continued to hiss and crackle almost angrily, licking his body as it flickered at his side, almost caressing his form.

Being called a traitor was apparently something the Uchiha did not take kindly, as his stance quickly changed from defence to attack as he sped at Naruto, Sharingan wheels spinning wildly. Naruto tensed his leg muscles to take the attack head on, the chakra around his blades rapidly increasing in volume as it spun around his figure like a shield.

Sasuke's eyes widened marginally at the shield of chakra, and he leapt over Naruto and twisted mid-air, flinging a barrage of shuriken at his engulfed form. Anticipating this, Naruto's spun to face the Uchiha, his blades made quick work of the projectiles and the short clink of metal upon metal sounded as they were deflected. Instead of falling to the ground, they hovered as though weightless, before spinning and heading back the direction they came, purple chakra surrounding the rotating discs.

Sharingan eyes, though able to predict body movement, had not anticipated the shuriken to be moved by Naruto's chakra. Still airborne and vulnerable, Sasuke had no choice but to dodge as his body twisted and turned to avoid the counterattack. As the missing-nin landed unscathed, the 'thunk' of the shuriken embedding in a nearby tree sounded, alongside the violent hiss as the chakra momentarily ate away at the bark before flickering and dying.

Neither shinobi made further movement, each eyeing the other warily as they watched to see who would strike first. Naruto's shield slowly, almost reluctantly, shied from the blonde's body, decreasing in size, remaining only at the katana once more.

"Tch. Don't look so cocky, dobe. You're not the only one who's acquired new moves." Despite his boast, Naruto's self-satisfied smirk never wavered at the uncertain look in Sasuke's eyes. Apparently the Uchiha hadn't anticipated such a defence, as it deterred taijutsu as well as weaponry such as shuriken and kunai due to the combination of chakra and Naruto's blades. Not quite an absolute defence, but definitely an efficient one, as previous battles had proven.

Naruto returned to his stance, watching as Sasuke's calculating gaze seemed to be deciding how to approach the situation. Deciding not to give the tensai time to formulate a way to bypass his defensive system, Naruto lifted two fingers from the pair of katana to form the ram seal, the blades in turn forming a giant cross at the action. "Kage bunshin no justu."

Nothing happened.

Sasuke's eyes widened, having expected the clones to have appeared next to the original. His mind swiftly supplied the reason for this not happening. _Behind me._ Reacting quickly, Sasuke ducked a katana as it sliced the air his body had previously occupied. Another swipe came from the left as one simultaneously came from the right. The Uchiha blocked both attacks with a kunai in each hand, pushing against the blades with chakra enforced strength to avoid the inevitable follow up attack from the second katanas as he unbalanced the clones.

"Knowing which ones are clones won't help you if you can't stop them," Naruto's taunting voice came from somewhere, but Sasuke ignored the jibe as he leapt into a tree. His eyes quickly scanned the area. _Two clones._ His jaw clenched. Naruto was still stood in the spot he'd been in before, his stance defensive. If the Uchiha could have seen the blonde's face, he bet it would be smug.

Knowing the clones couldn't form Naruto's defensive shield, he gripped both kunai tightly and waited. As expected, both clones attacked at once, each from behind. Predicting their movement would be difficult unless he could actually see them. Sensing them instead for the moment, Sasuke leapt higher up the tree, his speed giving him an advantage. Watching the clones quickly jump up after him, the Uchiha was able to foresee their movement this time. He easily made work of them as he dodged and parried the blows, getting inside their defences and jabbing their hearts with his kunai and causing them to disappear in puffs of smoke.

Naruto watched from his position on the ground as Sasuke easily destroyed his clones. _As expected_. The missing-nin looked particularly angry, apparently not pleased about being on the defensive against someone he had always considered beneath him. _Take that, bastard._ Naruto knew that things had only just begun, and that he shouldn't get so arrogant. Sasuke had already seen his defence, whereas Naruto hadn't even seen him use any ninjutsu yet. He felt a shiver of anticipation as he wondered what kinds of techniques the Uchiha had acquired over the years, before quashing it. _What do I care? He's no different than any other enemy, and they've all had an array of ninjutsu of varying grandeur. _

The words that the Uchiha said next not only shocked Naruto to the core, but also made him explicably angry. "I don't want to fight you, Naruto."

Pushing down the urge to shout and scream his reply, the blond ANBU forced his voice to be deathly calm, but couldn't remove the tremor from his voice. "And why the hell not? Am I not worthy of your impressive Uchiha self?"

Sasuke dropped down from his branch, landing easily. He took a couple of steps forward, but stayed a good distance away, as if sensing Naruto's fury. Naruto noticed his hands were shaking and clenched them around the hilts, forcing them to still.

"Why are you here, Naruto?" The question was plain, with no true curiosity behind it, showing Sasuke knew the answer. Of course he did, Naruto had made his intentions quite clear.

"To kill you," Naruto answered flatly, slightly confused but not willing to show it. Was Sasuke trying to distract him? He strengthened his stance.

"Why?" The question itself was so simple, as was the answer. Yet to Naruto, it seemed to complicate things so much more.

"You are Uchiha Sasuke, a missing-nin and traitor of Konoha," here Sasuke practically flinched, "subordinate of Orochimaru, a murderer of a number of Leaf ninja, as well as of Sand, our ally. You are a danger to Konoha and its inhabitants, and as such are to be executed," Naruto recited dully. "Do you want me to go on? I have more."

Sasuke's jaw clenched. "No. I've heard enough."

"Well now that that's settled…" Naruto trailed off, his point clearly made. Though hearing the words out loud, seeing the face of the man he had to kill, faint whispers of memoirs taunted him.

_Sasuke offering his twelve year old self lunch as Naruto struggled against the binds of his post._

_Sasuke's bruised and battered body as it stood in front of him protectively, blood dripping from the puncture wounds covering his body._

_Sasuke's look of camaraderie and triumph as their clenched fists knocked after their success in the Hidden Village of Mist._

_Sasuke's burning gaze as he finally acknowledged Naruto. "I want to fight you."_

_Sasuke's wild look of fierce determination as he and Naruto flew at each other, Kyuubi vessel and Orochimaru follower, Chidori chirping and Rasengan whirring._

Naruto flinched as memories long suppressed bombarded his mind. '_Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke.'_

The Uchiha seemed to sense Naruto's hesitation, cautiously walking forward. "Don't move, bastard," Naruto snarled, positioning his katana so that both were in front of him, the hilts touching and the blades facing outwards, his mind spinning. Sasuke was a traitor, a _murderer_. It was his mission, Godaime had entrusted him with this. Uchiha Sasuke had to be eliminated.

"Why are you here?" Sasuke asked again, but complied and moved no further.

"I'm in no mood to play games with you, Uchiha. I just told you," Naruto ground out, frustration welling up inside. _I can do this_.

Sasuke let out an agitated breath. "No, Naruto. Why are _you_ here?"

The emphasis on that one word made a world of difference, Naruto realised. It was something that had been burning at the back of his mind, but he had refused to acknowledge it. Why _was_ he here, and not another shinobi? Someone of equal or even higher strength and skill? It would have made a lot more sense for Tsunade to have assigned the mission to an ANBU with no previous emotional ties to the Uchiha. Hell, they had been _team mates._

_Had been. He was the one that wanted to break all bonds with you. He was the one who defected to Orochimaru. _

"Because Hokage-sama assigned this mission to me," was all Naruto chose to divulge. His voice was firm, and the mask hid his lost expression. Doubt clouded his mind, but he was determined not to falter. _Uchiha Sasuke is no longer a friend to me. He lost that privilege when he drove a Chidori through my chest._

"I won't fight you, Naruto," Sasuke repeated. As if to emphasise his point, the Sharingan faded, the deep crimson ebbing away to make way for soulful black. Eyes full of regret and remorse stared across the clearing, but Naruto's mind refused to believe it._ He's lying, trying to lull you into a false sense of security. End it now.You can do this._

Naruto hesitated. "Let me ask you some questions, then, since you felt so compelled to do so yourself." Deciding he was only wasting chakra, Naruto stopped feeding the purple flames on his katana, which faded and gradually died out, but did not alter his stance or put away his weapons. "Why won't you fight me?"

"Take off your mask." Sasuke's sudden demand angered Naruto, but also surprised him. It seemed the roles had been reversed; Sasuke was acting so random and…un-Sasuke like. _You can't claim to know him,_ Naruto reminded himself bitterly. _Don't be a hypocrite. _

"Answer my questions and I'll consider it."

"Take it off and I'll answer your questions."

Naruto gritted his teeth, but decided to comply. What harm could it do? Sasuke knew it was him anyway; it wasn't like the mask was hiding his identity. Lifting a hand to his face, wary of his katana, Naruto slowly, reluctantly, lowered the ANBU mask and clipped it to his belt.

Defiant sapphire eyes stared across at Sasuke, meeting directly with the Uchiha's own for the first time in over eight years. Naruto's face hadn't changed drastically over the years. The whisker marks were still there, and his blond hair was still relatively the same length. The only major change was that his face was less rounded without the presence of baby fat, and his jaw was more defined. "Well?" Naruto demanded.

"I want to return to Konoha."

"What!" Naruto couldn't help but exclaim in extreme astonishment. The shock brought about incredulous laughter. "You're kidding," Naruto stated flatly, humour quickly dissipating.

"No," Sasuke said, his expression sombre, fists clenching at his sides.

"Sasuke, let me give you a word of advice. I have just been sent to _assassinate _you, by order of the _Hokage_. Somehow, I don't think you're particularly welcome." Naruto tightened his grip on his katana, more of a reassurance than anything else. Being face to face like this suddenly made everything a lot more real. "If you don't want to fight, then don't, but that just makes it easier for me."

_I can do this._

Naruto quickly shot towards the missing-nin, "Konoha style: Dance of the roaring flames!" The chakra quickly leapt to life along his blades. Naruto jumped up, bringing down one katana in a swift arc. Sasuke had evidently decided to defend himself, as he once again held a kunai in each hand. The two weapons clanged, the chakra hissing as it licked at the Uchiha's hand. As Naruto landed, he swept the left katana low. Sasuke jumped over the blade, but the chakra moved and brushed his legs, causing him to wince from the combined pain in both his legs and arm.

Naruto continued his onslaught, twisting and turning as his chakra enveloped blades sliced through the air, not landing any physical blows on Sasuke but gradually causing increasing damage through the burning of his demonic chakra on the Uchiha's body.

As the kunai were smaller in size, they were easier to manoeuvre, which gave Sasuke a momentary advantage as he saw an opening. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the kunai aiming for his shoulder, causing him to quickly jump back, out of range. Instead of following through with his attack as Naruto expected, Sasuke simply halted his movements. His breaths were coming in short gasps due to the pain in his body and the exertion it took to defend such speedy and powerful blows.

"You wouldn't be in such a state if you fought back, damn it!" Naruto growled angrily. He was actually angrier with himself, attacking an opponent that didn't or couldn't find back was against Naruto's morals, and so the blond was finding it difficult to find the will to continue his assault. The fact that it was _Sasuke_ he was fighting only made it so much worse…

As with all the actions and words that had come from the Uchiha since their meeting, Naruto was no less than shocked when Sasuke dropped to his knees. The complete lapse in concentration caused the chakra to fade from his katana. Head bowed, Sasuke muttered lowly. "I'm sorry, Naruto."

"Sorry?" Naruto repeated incredulously, regaining his wits somewhat. "_Sorry!_" His voice gradually rose in volume. "You leave to become Orochimaru's lapdog, you break Sakura's heart, you try to _kill me_ just so you could gain Mangekyou Sharingan and you think you can just say sorry after so many years and it'll all be okay!" Naruto's voice cracked as all of his suppressed emotion rushed to the surface.

"I know I did some stupid things, Naruto, but I was blinded by the thought of revenge. My whole clan was killed by my own brother, and I was the only one left alive. My quest for power consumed me, I was young and foolish." Sasuke spoke quietly, but was now looking at Naruto almost beseechingly, if it were possible for the Uchiha.

"And what's changed?" Naruto spat. "Itachi is still at large, we both know that. Is it because your precious Orochimaru-sensei is dead now, so without your cursed seal you're nothing? You can't just waltz back into Konoha after what you've done, Uchiha."

Sasuke's eyes burned with anger and an array of things in between, "You don't know anything," he whispered, hands trembling as they clenched into fists in the dirt.

"I'd like to think I know you enough. After all, you can't be any less of an arrogant, self-absorbed bastard with a holier-than-thou attitude than you were before." Naruto snapped heatedly, turning Sasuke's own words against him.

Despite his harsh demeanour, inwardly Naruto was a mess. Thoughts and emotions and questions swam inside his being, before rushing away and being replaced by equally confusing and infuriating ones.

_Why was I assigned this mission? _

_Why won't you fight!_

…_Why did you leave me?_

Sasuke said nothing at first. He simply stared at Naruto with his dark gaze, the look in his eyes difficult to interpret, especially at such a distance. Then he lowered his head, looking at the ground, and didn't move.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked warily.

The dark haired missing-nin's position didn't change. "You came here to kill me, right?" His soft voice barely reached Naruto's ears. As it dawned on the ANBU, his eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat.

_Surely he's not…?_

"So kill me."

Naruto swallowed, his palms becoming slippery with sweat. He slowly walked closer to the still form of Uchiha Sasuke, whose neck was tense as though he was resisting the urge to look up. Naruto sheathed one katana and raised the other, the blade glinting from a strip of sunlight that had escaped the snare of leaves up above. Aligned over the back of Sasuke's neck, the blade quivered as the hand holding it began to shake.

_I can…_

Naruto's look of fear and uncertainty was wiped clean in an instant, replaced with a look of ultimate resolve. The blade shot downwards, and a sickening 'thud' sounded in the small clearing of the forest in the country of Earth.

--

Naruto entered the Hokage's office, report in hand and solemn look upon his features. The sun was slowly disappearing behind the horizon, causing the sky to bleed red and the room to comprise of an eerie glow. The only visible wound on his person was a cut and bloodied knuckle, only noticeable because he was clutching the report tightly with it. Naruto walked briskly towards her desk, where Tsunade watched him with a concerned gaze. Without waiting for a word from her, and not uttering a sound himself, Naruto dropped the scroll onto the wooden desk and teleported immediately out of the room.

The Godaime slowly reached for the innocent looking scroll, unrolling its contents at an agonisingly slow pace. When the report was fully exposed, brown eyes widened at the large scrawl at the top of the page.

MISSION FAILED

In the dying light of the sun, a small sigh of relief was heard echoing through the Hokage's office.

--

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	3. In Each Other's Thoughts

**Forgotten **

By **Aphyx**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, and I receive no financial gain through writing this. Obviously.

**Warnings**: Shounen-ai, slight language, violence.

Ahaha, so it's been a while since I updated… Well I've been in Denmark for a week! I don't know a word of Danish, and I had to stay at a Dane's house. Scary! Plus my BT Broadband connection's been all weird lately, and sometimes I can't connect for days at a time. Gah, stupid thing. Anyway, it's done now, so enjoy!

--

Naruto stared despondently at his cooling ramen, having only managed a few mouthfuls before opting to brood over the last twenty four hours instead. His previously bloodied fist, now completely wound free, clenched in bitter remembrance.

'_I can…'_

_Naruto's look of fear and uncertainty was wiped clean in an instant, replaced with a look of ultimate resolve. The blade shot downwards, and a sickening 'thud' sounded in the small clearing of the forest in the country of Earth._

'_I can't do this.'_

_Naruto fled; angry, upset and one katana short. He ran with one sole purpose, and that was to get as far away from Uchiha Sasuke as possible. When Naruto felt he had gained enough distance and had ensured that he was not being followed, he allowed himself to stop running. _

_Feeling overemotional, and a great sense of self-deprecation, Naruto slammed a fist into a nearby tree, crying out in anguish. Why couldn't he do it! Dammit, he was an ANBU for God's sake; he was supposed to kill quickly, efficiently and without emotion. The fact it was Uchiha Sasuke, his former best friend, should not have been of consequence. _

_Though the fact of the matter was, it had been._

_He wasn't sure how long he was stood there, one fist pressed against the rough bark of a tree, back hunched, head bowed, a million thoughts and emotions swimming around inside. Realising he wasn't going to feel any better, the blond decided to push all of the maddening thoughts aside, dwelling on it would just get him aggravated. Pushing away from the tree, Naruto fixed his ANBU mask back in place and headed towards Konoha. He had a mission report to hand in._

Naruto's blond locks were mussed from lack of sleep, his blue eyes dulled and tired and his form was slumped over the kitchen table. The usually vibrant, full-of-life ninja looked much older than his twenty years. Naruto frowned as images of yesterday continued to haunt him, more specifically Sasuke down in the dirt, head bowed as he waited to be executed. What had happened to the no-nonsense ninja whose sole purpose in life was to kill a certain man? A man that was definitely alive and kicking, not to mention killing innocents while he was at it.

For a brief, fleeting moment, Naruto thought that maybe the Uchiha had known he wouldn't be able to kill him in the first place, but quickly discarded the idea as it brought about even more unanswered questions.

Sighing unhappily, Naruto forced his body to move and dumped his uneaten ramen in the trash. He didn't have any missions as of yet, though ANBU were often given theirs on short notice, so he had nothing to occupy himself with. Sick of having Uchiha fucking Sasuke on his mind, Naruto grabbed his weaponry and made his way towards the training grounds to engage himself.

A good few hours had passed in which the world around Naruto had blurred into mere shapes and colours as he moved swiftly about the empty glade, twisting and turning and jumping as he allowed himself to free his mind of its burdens. The only sounds being the occasional 'thud' as a thrown shuriken hit its target or the near-silent swish of a blade as it sliced through the air with smooth precision.

When the blond ANBU finally stopped, sweating and out of breath, his clear mind was abruptly assaulted with unwelcome thoughts and images. Knowing he would have to face his problem, Naruto sighed as he moved and sat under the cool shadow of a nearby tree.

What would he do now? He could easily pretend none of it had ever happened, but the memory of it would always haunt him. Sasuke had always had that effect on him; it had taken him years to get over the betrayal. There was also the fact that the Uchiha wanted to return to Konoha. Would he have the nerve to turn up here? Naruto had the uneasy feeling that he would. If that time came, then Naruto knew the ANBU would be on him like bees to honey, meaning Naruto himself would become unwillingly involved. Again.

Tsunade would probably be on his case soon, the mission report he'd handed in had been very vague, something that was not tolerated in ANBU reports. Because the Gondaime had a soft spot for him, she'd probably give him a few days to recuperate before demanding answers. Though Naruto had a fair few questions of his own. Tsunade had sent him on that mission deliberately, it was no coincidence that he had been assigned to kill his previous team mate. The aging Hokage definitely had something up her sleeve, and Naruto was determined to find out what it was; he wanted no part of it.

"Oi, Naruto."

Naruto blinked, looking up at the approaching figure of Shikamaru. "Hey," the blond greeted tiredly, a shadow of a smile on his lips.

Shikamaru frowned, but said nothing of Naruto's dishevelled state. Naruto liked that about him. "We have a mission in two days; a feudal lord wants bodyguards for his return trip to the Earth Country."

Naruto groaned. He hated missions like those. "Why ANBU? Can't a chuunin or jounin do it? God, it's such a menial task."

The dark-haired ninja smiled briefly. "You know lords, they have more money than they know what to do with. He wants the best protection Konoha can offer."

Naruto supposed the mission would prove a decent distraction. Depending on the pace of the feudal lord, the mission would take a couple of days. "So does he want the whole team?" Naruto asked sceptically. No single person needed a full ANBU team to protect them, feudal lord or not.

"Nah. It's just you and me this time. Think you could cope?" Shikamaru smirked slightly.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Naruto returned, feeling a smile creep onto his face without his permission. "Not too troublesome for you, I hope?"

"Well," the lazy genius drawled, "as long as you don't chatter my ear off the whole way there, or manage to fall flat on your face again."

"Hey!" Naruto protested, "That was _one time_, and I could have sworn that rock wasn't there before," he added, pouting for effect.

Shikamaru chuckled at his blond friend. "You're the only ANBU I know with a serious lack of co-ordination out of battle."

Naruto snorted, amused despite himself. "It was one time, Shikamaru. My co-ordination's not _that_ bad anymore."

Shikamaru merely raised an eyebrow in response, before his expression turned apathetic once more. "Well…I have training scheduled with my Dad, I can't be late," he said, but his tone clearly stated 'troublesome'.

Naruto snickered; lifting a hand in parting as Shikamaru slowly ambled away. When the dark-haired ninja had eventually gone out of sight, Naruto allowed himself a soft smile. Shikamaru had improved his mood without even bringing up the subject. Naruto stretched his arms up, folding them behind his head as he leaned further back against the tree trunk to allow his body to relax. He had such great friends.

--

After allowing himself to laze around under the cool shade of the tree, Naruto forced his hazy mind back into focus. The blond squinted at the sky and guessed it to be around late afternoon from the position of the sun. Naruto decided it was time to head back into the village; maybe go bug Sakura for while.

Naruto sighed to himself as he went about the task of collecting all of his scattered shuriken and kunai. As tedious as the task was, Naruto had never grown out of the habit due to having to preserve his weaponry from when he was younger and poorer. Whilst pulling a final shuriken out of the small, circular target on the edge of the forest, a flash of metal in the grass to his left caught his eye.

Blinking in surprise, Naruto bent down and picked it up, a frown playing at his lips. He didn't remember missing a target, why was there one on the floor? Naruto dismissed it. Someone else could have just left it there after their own practice. As soon as he took a step backwards, a sudden flash of movement in the thick of the trees caught his attention. His body instantly alert, the ANBU strained his eyes and ears to locate the source.

After peering in the shady forest for a few minutes, Naruto was unable to see any abnormal movements. Realising he was being paranoid, the blond shinobi scowled to himself. All this business with Uchiha had his nerves frazzled.

'Like the Uchiha would really dare come to Konoha,' Naruto scoffed.

Taking a tentative step backwards, Naruto was satisfied when nothing happened in the surrounding area. The weight of the foreign shuriken was heavy in his hands, and Naruto gave it a thoughtful glance before decisively throwing it at the nearby target, where it hit dead centre with a quiet thunk.

"You're going crazy, Uzumaki. Was probably a rabbit or something," Naruto muttered to himself as he turned and left the training area, determinedly not looking back into the dark cluster of trees.

--

Deep red eyes glowed eerily in the surrounding shadows of the forest, the tight collection of trees preventing any sunlight from permeating the leaves above. The dark figure allowed his body to relax as the form of the blond ANBU walked out of sight. The missing-nin scowled, not pleased at having to do something as cowardly as hiding, but knowing it was all he could do for now.

Sasuke took measured steps as he walked further away from the protective shadows of the small forest and into the light of the invasive Konoha sun. Keeping his senses tuned to any nearby human presence, he came to a stop at a particular tree. With narrowed eyes, Sasuke yanked the embedded shuriken from the target with more force than necessary in his anger.

The Uchiha eyed the innocent looking shuriken in his hand with displeasure. It didn't look, feel, or weigh any different than a normal shuriken. But inside was a small piece of technology that allowed it to be tracked within a range of around ten kilometres, to whoever had the receiver. Namely, one Uchiha Sasuke. He hadn't planned on Naruto throwing it away.

Sasuke sighed; pocketing the shuriken and moving swiftly back into the veil of the dark forest, deciding to stay just outside of the village for now. After all, Naruto's mission wasn't for another few days, he wasn't going anywhere.

'I'll just have to track him the ninja way,' Sasuke thought, allowing a slight smirk to grace his features, 'which won't be difficult, not when he has an aged feudal lord setting the pace.'

Once Naruto was out of the village, it would be much easier to corner him. It would also suggest less Konoha shinobi on his tail should anything go wrong. Sasuke had the slight problem of Nara Shikamaru, however, meaning he'd have to tread carefully. Naruto also seemed to be extremely wary since their encounter the day before.

'He must have known it was me in those woods. There are no rabbits in the areas surrounding the training grounds. Hell, there are no animals at all, they all steer clear due to the risk of being impaled by flying kunai,' Sasuke allowed himself to slow his pace once he was a safe enough distance away from Konohagakure. 'So why did he just walk away?'

Sasuke unsheathed the katana he had strapped to his back, eyeing the intricate pattern of a nine-tailed fox as the hilt, its mouth open to make it seem as though the blade protruded from inside the kitsune itself, its nine tails wrapped protectively around its body. His fist clenched around it as his mind's eye envisioned a solemn Naruto clad in ANBU armour, chakra flaring around the two katana as he prepared himself to kill Sasuke. Naruto was so different, in mannerisms and in strength, it had been like looking at a stranger.

But Tsunade had sent Naruto after him for a reason. Though Sasuke was unsure of her motives at the moment, there was a purpose to choosing his ex best friend and rival to assassinate him, after all. Especially someone as emotional as Naruto. Since he had been unable to do it the first time, Sasuke was sure he would be able to approach the blond himself and come out unscathed. Maybe a little battle sore, the Uchiha thought with a faint reminiscent smile.

Re-sheathing the katana, the dark-haired missing-nin walked swiftly through the forest on the outskirts of Konoha's border. His blood red eyes were narrowed with a thoughtful and determined expression.

'Naruto will see things my way even if I have to beat him immobile and tie him up to get him to listen,' Sasuke thought grimly, realising that getting through to Naruto would be difficult. The scars of betrayal ran deep, that was sure.

Crimson faded to inky black, the bottomless depths expressing the Uchiha's melancholy. "Naruto _will _come around. He has to."

--

Okay, so it's not such an interesting chapter, but this stuff needs to be put in too! Please be so kind as to leave a review?


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